A typical banjo has a thin flexible membrane, or head, stretched over a rim and held in place by a tension hoop. The tension hoop is secured to the rim using hooks, and the hooks pass through a flange attached to the rim and are held in place with a plurality of nuts. Attached to the rim using one or two coordinator rods is a long thin structure known as a neck. The coordinator rods pass through apertures in the rim and are held in place with coordinator rod nuts. A tailpiece attached to the tension hoop secures the first end of each of a set of four, five, or six strings. The end of the neck opposite the rim has a plurality of tuning pegs to secure the second end of each of the strings. The tuning pegs also serve to tension the strings to the appropriate tone. The strings transmit sound waves to the head through a bridge. Other components include a resonator and tone ring, which affect the tone of the sound emanated from the banjo.
The component of a banjo that gives the instrument its unique sound is the head. Banjo heads are susceptible to fluctuations in temperature and humidity due to the thinness and large surface area of a typical head. Even a small amount of swelling or shrinkage of the head will cause the tonal quality of the banjo to vary widely. Traditionally, this problem was rectified manually, with the banjo player making frequent adjustments to the nuts, top coordinator rod nut, and tuning pegs. By varying the tightness of the nuts connected to the hooks that secure the tension hoop, the tension of the head can be corrected to maintain the desired tonal quality. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for maintaining the tension of a banjo head without the need to frequently adjust the nuts.
To a lesser degree, fluctuations in vibration, temperature, and humidity affect the pressure acting upon the top coordinator rod nut, which in turn affects the pressure on the inside of the rim. When this happens, the desired pressure on the rim is lost, and the banjo player must manually readjust the top coordinator rod nut so the rim is not distorted. Then, the banjo player must adjust the tuning pegs to return each string to its desired tone. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for maintaining the pressure on the top coordinator rod nut without the need for frequent adjustments.
The banjo generates tone using vibrations of strings that are transmitted through the bridge to the head. A side effect of the constant vibration generated by playing a banjo is that the tension hoop and top coordinator rod nut become loose, which affects the tension acting on the head and pressure securing the top coordinator rod nut. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that maintains the tightness of the tension hoop and pressure on the top coordinator rod nut despite the vibrations caused by playing the banjo.
The inventions of the prior art propose to lessen the tension maintenance problem by providing new ways of making the various structures of the banjo. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 1,596,703 provides a new resonator attaching device; U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,018 provides an improved drumhead; U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,234 provides a method of fabricating the rim and tone ring; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,681 provides a new hook assembly that utilizes threaded bushings to mount the tension hoop. However, none of the devices of the prior art resolve both of the problems discussed above. First, none provide an apparatus that automatically maintains a desired tension on a banjo head throughout temperature and humidity fluctuations. Second, none of the devices of the prior art are capable of being retrofitted to an existing banjo, as all require new construction. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, easily retrofitted apparatus for maintaining a desired tension on a banjo head.
The apparatus in accordance with the present invention provides a banjo tensioner that maintains a desired tension on a banjo's head and pressure on the top coordinator rod nut without the need for frequent adjustment. The invention may be retrofitted to banjos already in production and use.